


The die has been cast

by Mrs_Patterson



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Gunshot Wounds, M/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 12:26:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15581976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Patterson/pseuds/Mrs_Patterson
Summary: Bandit is lucky, he alway is. Until one day, he isn’t.





	The die has been cast

Bandit always used to say: „Brave, smart or lucky – you will still die“. Today is his turn to run out of luck.

He took a bullet to the chest and is clinging on to life. He is dying. He is a lost cause, he cannot be saved.

Within the next two minutes he will be in severe distress.  
He will lose consciousness in about three minutes.  
4 minutes from now, his heart will stop beating forever.  
He won’t even feel it.

His body is really busy right now, trying to handle the sudden assault, deal with the loss of much needed blood and adapt to the situation he was brought in so suddenly.

The force of the bullet hit him off guard and threw him backwards to the ground.   
Bandit is astonished, he merely groans at the impact. All he does is look down his chest in awe. It’s the characteristically mixture of surprise, utter disbelief and the adrenaline kicking in. While adrenaline and cortisol keep the pain at bay, it’s the disbelief that seems to have switched off his brain instantaneously. He is not even sure if he got hit or if the bullet was stopped by his tactical vest. He will find out soon enough. 

While the entry wound is barely visible, the bullet tore open a gaping exit wound at his back.   
The projectile broke a rib on its way through Bandit’s torso. Part of that rib has penetrated the lung, causing blood to slowly trickle into his lung. It’s not enough to suffocate him yet, but it will slowly crawl up his respiratory tract and cause serious problems later.

While a broken rib and a penetrated lung are very painful, this is not what’s going to kill him. The shot missed the vital organs in his chest but he has massive internal bleeding. His main artery is lacerated. There is no way to stop the bleeding in time.

Bandit is not aware of any of these things, tough his first deep breathes give him an indication that something is wrong. The adrenaline has worn off, there’s a sharp pain inside his chest and it increases with every breath he takes.

But really, at this point he is doing fine, he knows that he’s in need of medical attention, but he thinks he can endure. His instincts are taking over, he was trained to handle situations like these and he’s confident in his training. He managed to get his head to work again, he’s back to lucid and asks for medical help over his comms.

Propping himself up against a wall he curses that Doc is on another mission. Luckily his fellow operators also have received solid medical training. Granted, it’s basic knowledge and in no way comparable to Doc’s, but it will do. Bullet went in and out, he’s doing fine, can’t be that bad, right? 

That’s Bandit, sly and cunning. He thinks he will bounce back from this. Same as ever. He has always had this lucky streak, his luck wouldn’t run out now, would it?   
He’s completely oblivious to the fact that he has been critically injured. He is bleeding to death without knowing it.  
He has no idea that he will be dead in a few minutes.

Jäger is rushing into the room and gets on his knees next to Bandit. It didn’t even take him a minute to clear the floor and reach Bandit, but by the time he gets to his injured teammate the puddle of blood building on the tiles has already reached a considerable size and keeps expanding at an impressive, yet dangerous speed.

Jäger has trained for this kind of situation, is supposed to keep calm and carry on the mission, yet he can’t help but feel panic rise in his chest. He has never seen his friend Bandit like this and his mind is going dangerously blank. Jäger’s hands are shaking as he tries to access the situation, unsteady fingers hovering over Bandit’s wound.  
Jäger is genuinely scared and it’s Bandit that manages to deescalate the situation and even get a smile out of his boyfriend.

„Hey Jäger, I hope you brought a band aid.“  
„Damn it Dom, I’m an engineer, not a medic.“  
„C’mon, all you need to do is keep me company until an ambulance comes. You’ll get the hang of it.“

Basic medical training is not enough to control this situation. They don’t know yet, they want to believe that they actually have a chance. They want to believe it so badly that they are blind to the situation, to reality. 

Bandit smells the copper before he tastes it.   
The metallic scent of blood is heavy in his nose and in his mouth. Like acid. Before he even knows it, he starts coughing and sprinkles his chin with thick, reddish saliva. He wiped the trickle of spit away with his gloved hand as quickly as possible, hoping that Jäger hadn’t seen it. 

He starts estimating his chances of survival and the result is unsatisfactory. He has already lost a critical amount of blood and apparently his respiratory tract is affected. It took him a little longer than it should to understand that his lung was filling with blood and that he couldn’t breathe with a lung full of blood. He would be drowning on his own blood and that fact made him tear up. Maybe he would be given a few more agonizing minutes. At best.   
He desperately needs time and blood and oxygen and he isn’t getting any of it. Everything is working against him, with no one to bribe, no one to outsmart, no one to trick. Blood is flowing ceaselessly and time is merciless running out while he is coming to the realization that he has to tell Jäger what he knows. He has to make Jäger understand.

„Marius, this is bad.”, his voice laced with urgency.  
„You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you“, Jäger assures him and why would he not believe it? Bandit just told him that he is fine a few seconds ago.  
„Marius please, I’m not kidding. This is serious, I’m dying.“   
Jäger doesn’t seem to be aware of the situation and Bandit can not even blame him with how often he has pranked him. The absurdity of the situation would have almost made him laugh. But with his breathing becoming noticeably more difficult, he refrains from doing so. The flavor of his own blood infiltrating his mouth and nose was a serious indication that he was running out of time. He might remain conscious for another minute but that was it. 

Anxiety sets in, a tightness in his chest that shouldn’t be there.  
Fear creeping into very single cell of his body.  
Bandit loved to get into fights. This one is lost before he knew he had been challenged. 

He is so mad that he can’t change the situation, that he doesn’t get a chance for a fair fight. The die has been cast. Bandit is clenching his fists in anger. To him, everything was a competition and realizing that he is not able to win this time makes him growl in anger. He is like a caged animal, his life is out of his control. There is no way to win this fight but he has to fight nonetheless.

Sweating, weakness, anxiety, nausea, quick, shallow breathing. It’s all there. And more seriously, it’s getting worse. But Jäger doesn’t understand yet, refuses to face the facts. Bandit even told him that he’s dying. He didn’t listen. 

Jäger was still incredulous. Bandit surely wasn’t dying, they made jokes a few seconds ago and besides, he is doing fine. The blood loss didn’t seem to affect him that much. Jäger has always been better at understanding machines than people. Looking down on the pale, struggling man at his feet Jäger recognized that Bandit had indeed been right. There is no way that this is going to end well.  
The realization is slowly sinking in now.

This is no longer about medical help, he knows he can’t save Bandit. Jäger is trying to keep Bandit comfortable. 

He’s embracing Bandit, gently wrapping his arms around him as if to protect him from further harm. He is as careful as possible not to inflict any further pain. Bandit is whimpering almost inaudible nonetheless, but ultimately gives in and sinks into Jäger’s reassuring arms, resting his head against his chest.  
Jäger is cradling him, like a hurt child, shushing him gently.   
They have done this many times before. Jäger would calm Bandit down in his times of trouble, guide him trough his night terrors and soothe his anxieties until he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.   
This time it’s raw and ugly. Both of them are soaked in Bandit’s blood and sweat by now and Bandit has never been farer away from solace. He is writhing and clenching his teeth in agony, making Jäger tighten his grip to calm him down. It’s a mockery of a once affectionate gesture.

Bandit is a fighter, always has been. Jäger knew he wouldn’t go down without putting up a good fight. And he does. After all, it’s impressive that he is still conscious. He is trembling with fear and exhaustion, but he is still fighting, rejecting the sweet offer of giving in to his heavy and weary body, relinquish control and succumb to sweet and soothing darkness.

He has always been good at hiding his fears, the demons that haunted him so many nights. He has no energy left to hide his fear right now. Jäger can see it in his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes that used to light up with every prank, banter and taunt.   
Those eyes are wide with fear.   
„Please take me away from here.“ Bandit is pleading now, sobbing. 

Jäger has never seen Bandit like this, all he can do is caress his cheek and run his hand through Bandit’s hair. He doesn’t dare to look him in the eyes, they are so unfamiliar now. At the same time it’s his last chance to look into those beautiful eyes, Bandit won’t be able to keep them open much longer. Very soon the lack of blood and oxygen will anesthetize his brain, numb him and lull him into a blissful state of release. Bandit is still fighting it. 

There is a lot of blood accumulating in his chest cavity, putting pressure on his lungs.   
His lungs constrict, he can’t fill them with air any more. It’s as if he had forgotten how to breathe, his muscles spasming uselessly, his nostrils flaring. He is gasping for air frantically. His vision is already blurred, the corners of his vision going dark, offering relief from pain and grant peace of mind. It’s a sanctuary for the death stricken man. 

All he has to do is give in and let go. But he refuses the offer. He cannot give in yet. He hasn’t made peace with his imminent fate. The inevitable, the fact that he will die. That he has to leave Jäger behind. 

This is the worst part of it really. He is not ready to leave Jäger behind. They did not have enough time to create collective memories and suddenly Bandit is painfully aware that Jäger will probably remember this moment forever. He really wished he could have left him more pleasant mementos and he wants more time with Jäger.

Blood is bubbling from the corner of his mouth, while he still fails to breathe. His body is convulsing desperately, his hand buried in Jägers fatigues.

His last breaths are shallow and erratic, his eyes refuse to stay open any longer. He just needs a little rest, just a little... His body is so heavy... But it doesn’t hurt any more, the pain is gone. It wasn’t hard for Bandit to let go. 

He did not regain consciousness again. 

Dominic Brunsmeier died at 14:37 local time, two minutes before the paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene.


End file.
